Chapter 38: Awaken! The Great Stone Dragon!

"Then I guess I'll Set this one last card face-down," Matt said. "That will end my turn."

"Good, now it's my turn again!" Arkana retorted, drawing his next card. He grinned widely and said, "Now I'll activate my Pot of Greed to draw two more cards, which adds another Spell Counter to my Citadel!"

(Magical Citadel: 9 counters)

Drawing his next two cards, Arkana's smile only grew wider. "I couldn't have asked for a better pair of cards!" he said. "I now remove six of the Spell Counters on the Magical Citadel in order to summon Endymion the Master Magician (7/2700/1700)!"

(Magical Citadel: 3 counters)

Several magical spheres appeared out of the tower and floated around forming a mechanical circle. A tall warlock clothed in black robes and adorned with purple gems arose onto Arkana's field and equipped the circle onto his back. He then conjured up his ornate magical staff and brandished it, twirling about and finally pointing it at Matt.

"What is that?!" Joey yelped.

"Endymion the Master Magician," Yugi said.

"Have you heard of it, Yugi?" Tea asked.

"It's a rare and powerful monster," Yugi answered. "It's said that before the Dark Magician, there was another great spell caster that ruled over the magical world from atop his tower. It may be that this Endymion is that monster."

"So he's got the strongest magician ever?" Tristan said.

"Dat's bad news," Joey said.

"Now that I've summoned the Master Magician from my hand via its ability," Arkana continued, "I'm allowed to add any Spell card played during this duel to my hand, so now I draw and activate Spell Absorption from the Graveyard!"

(Magical Citadel: 4 counters)

"Oh no! Now all of Matt's spells will help make Arkana stronger again!" Shannon exclaimed.

"And that's not all," Arkana continued. "I can even use them in tandem with Endymion the Master Magician! Watch as he transforms my Spell Power Grasp into a horrid bolt of dark lightning!"

Discarding his Spell card, Endymion then charged up his magic staff and directed it at Matt's Emotional Dragon.

He must've suspected my monster was immune to magic cards, Matt thought, so he's using his monster's ability to get around it.

Endymion then proceeded to fire off a bolt of lightning at the dragon, eradicating it from the field!

"Ahahahahaha, behold the ultimate power that is my monster!" Arkana cheered. "And now I'll add another Spellcaster to my ranks, one with powers even greater than the Dark Magician! I sacrifice my Dark Magician in order to evolve him into the Dark Eradicator Warlock (7/2500/2100)!"

Arkana's Dark Magician slowly transformed and broke free of its frozen prison. His staff grew two prongs to accompany its larger crystal, his red armor transformed into flowing purple robes. His face became more gaunt and serious, completing the transformation into the grand warlock.

"Yo Yug, what's dat card?" Joey asked.

"It's an evolved form of the Dark Magician," Yugi explained. "It may not appear to be different, but it has gained a powerful effect. Now if Arkana were to activate a Normal Spell card, he can inflict 1000 damage to Matt instantly."

"You're kidding!" Tristan responded.

"Now go, Endymion the Master Magician!" Arkana declared. "Attack the Blizzard Dragon with your Spell of Destruction!"

Endymion charged up more magical energy into his staff and then unleashed it upon the poor dragon, disintegrating it in a single blast! The ongoing streams continued and wrapped around Matt as a card on his field flew up, though it became obscured from the smoke.

Arkana: 4500
Matt: 3100

"Now Dark Eradicator Warlock, attack him directly!" Arkana continued, sending in his dark mage to strike down Matt's Life Points with a powerful dark spell!

Arkana: 4500
Matt: 600

"Nyahahahahahaha! Looks like there's nothing you can do!" Arkana laughed. "It won't matter what you do, on my next turn, I win!"

"Is that so?"


"My move!" Andrew said, drawing his next card. "I'll summon Servant of the Ancient Heroes (1/100/100) in Attack mode."

Andrew's new monster appeared on the field, a mere human clothed in dirt-covered robes etched with runes all over. He bore an A on each of his hands and stood ready and waiting for his task.

"Now I attack Skeletal Enigma with my Ancient Hero Superior!" Andrew declared.

The great blazing warrior charged towards the skeletal fiend, raising his mighty weapon and striking down upon it with ease! The force shattered the creature into a pile of bones, rattling as they fell into a pile on the floor.

"Looks like that's enough of that monster!" Creighton cheered.

"Don't be so sure," Kari said. "Look at the field."

Creighton looked over at her to retort but then watched as the scattered bones began clinking and clanking together, reshaping the monster that had seemingly been destroyed. The skeletal fiend cackled as it reformed itself in its entirety.

Jake smiled and explained, "Your monsters aren't the only ones that can have hidden abilities. My Skeletal Enigma is made up of bones from my other monsters. It can't be slain in battle!"

Andrew scoffed. "Figures there's a catch," he said. "I'll just end my turn then."

"Now it's my move then!" Jake said, drawing his next card. "And I'll start by banishing two of my EARTH monsters from the Graveyard in order to summon Gigastone Omega (6/1000/2300) to the field!"

Several boulders rolled down into the canyon the group stood in, forming together into a stone behemoth that roared fiercely as it arrived onto the field!

"But don't get too attached, cause I'm sacrificing him along with my Skeletal Enigma to summon forth the Great Stone Dragon (9/1600/3300) in Attack mode!" Jake continued, removing the skeletal fiend and the stone behemoth from the field and replacing them with an even greater and more majestic stone dragon! The rocks that formed it weren't like the other monsters were composed of; they glimmered and glittered amidst their blackened exterior, akin to obsidian rather than granite or sandstone. The dragon roared an echoey growl that permeated the battlefield as another wandering soul joined the ghosts of the pit.

(Chasm of Phantasms: 6 counters)

Ancient Hero Guardian (4/1300/2000 - 4/1400/2000)
Great Stone Dragon (9/1600/3300 - 9/2200/3300)

"Now when I summon forth the Great Stone Dragon, his power activates," Jake explained, "returning any of our monsters that were removed from play back to the Graveyard. In this case, my Skeletal Enigma and the two monsters I removed for Gigastone Omega go back to my Graveyard."

"Why go through all this trouble to bring out a monster that brings monsters back to the grave?" Kari wondered aloud. "It doesn't seem to make much sense."

"He's planning something that's for sure," Izzy responded.

Andrew simply looked on as Jake's monsters were returned to the Graveyard. Then he continued, "Now I pay 300 Life Points to use another of Great Stone Dragon's abilities, adding my Skeletal Enigma back into my deck."

As Jake's Life Points were depleted, he returned the card in question back to his deck and shuffled it.

Andrew: 3400
Jake: 1900

"So wait, is he going to summon Skeletal Enigma again?" Creighton asked.

"If he is, it's going to be difficult given that he needs another card to bring it out from his deck," Izzy replied.

"Don't worry," Jake said, "my Skeletal Enigma isn't the only card that can use the power of my Graveyard. Now I'm going to summon forth my Zombie Golem (8/1800/1600) in Attack mode!"

From the bowels of the earth erupted a great dark hand, bringing with it a crudely constructed rock golem. The rocks were interlaced with bones of all sorts: femurs, skulls, ribs, even pelvises in some areas. A great pair of ghoulish eyes and a great burning mouth opened up as the monster roared alongside the Great Stone Dragon!

"Now with the power of my Zombie Golem, I will increase his power by 300 Atk and Def for every EARTH monster I have in my Graveyard!" Jake said, holding up his hand. "Now great golem, accept my offering and increase your strength tenfold!"

The golem roared mightily at this offering, but this slowly died down into a mere moan. The group looked on at this spectacle, and yet nothing appeared to happen.

"What's going on? My golem should have gained a great amount of power! I have twelve monsters in my Graveyard, last I checked!" Jake said, wondering what could've gone wrong.

Andrew simply smiled. "Maybe you should check your Graveyard again," he said. "Cause it seems to me that some grave robbers might have gotten into it."

"Grave robbers?! Defiling my grave?! What trickery have you pulled?!" Jake demanded.

Andrew indicated the card he had activated amidst the golem's summoning: "This is my Disturbance of the Grave Trap card, and once I activate it, every card in your Graveyard is treated as though it were in my Graveyard for the duration of the turn."

"So then…my monsters…"

"-aren't even around to power up your Golem, and on the turn he needed it the most," Andrew finished. "Looks like you won't be able to power up your Golem as much as you thought you would."

"Hmph, you clever devil," Jake smiled. "Still, my Zombie Golem remains an EARTH monster, and thus it gains the power of the Chasm of Phantasms, just as every EARTH monster does!"

Zombie Golem (8/1800/1600 - 8/2400/1600)

"And more importantly, you still made one fatal mistake! Go, my Zombie Golem, attack his Servant of the Ancient Heroes!" Jake declared.

The golem charged forth with a great hand of bone, smashing down upon the poor weary servant and crushing it easily!

Andrew: 1100
Jake: 1900

"Oh man! Andrew took a big hit on that one!" Creighton yelped.

"Another attack like that could finish him off!" Izzy said.

Andrew looked up and smiled. "Well then, I suppose with that, it's the end of your turn?" he asked, ready to draw his next card.

"Almost," Jake said, lowering his Duel Disk. "But first, tell me something. Why didn't you activate your Trap card earlier?"

"Oh?"

"Your Disturbance of the Grave could have prevented my Gigastone Omega from being summoned, thus stopping Great Stone Dragon from showing up as well," Jake explained. "And on top of that, you let Zombie Golem come forth as well. It makes no sense to not use a card like that sooner. You would've won the duel at that point."

Andrew smiled and drew his next card. "I just want to get a feel for your best," he replied, astonishing Jake.

"That's Andrew for ya," Izzy said. "He'll let his opponents do just what they want, but he'll never let them get too far before he beats them."

"Is that really what he's like?" Kari asked.

"Yeah, practically with everything!" Creighton said. "You name it, dueling, restaurants, dating - he works to get a feel on everything before he commits to a strategy!"

Kari felt a little sweat drop, embarrassed over Creighton's explanation. "That's…nice," she said, turning back to the duel.

"Now then," Andrew continued, "I activate the Twist of Fate spell card to double my Life Points until my next turn since they're lower than yours."

Andrew: 2200
Jake: 1900

"Doesn't seem like that'll do much," Jake replied.

"Doesn't have to," Andrew continued. "Now Superior, attack Zombie Golem! Destroy it with your mighty trident!"

The great warrior nodded and charged forth towards the undead golem!

"Sorry, but my monster's not so vulnerable," Jake said. "I activate the Great Stone Dragon's ability! Terra Barrier!"

Just as the warrior's strike was about to reach the dragon, a giant spire of stone intercepted the attack! The dragon then shifted its form, shielding itself with its great stone legs before raising its tail and firing a series of jagged stones rapidly at Superior, forcing him back and hitting Andrew with the residual fragments!

Andrew: 1800
Jake: 1900

"What just happened?" Creighton asked aloud.

"The Great Stone Dragon blocked the attack," Izzy said.

"My Great Stone Dragon redirects any attack you make towards itself," Jake explained, "and then it switches into Defense Mode, creating an impenetrable defense that will keep you at bay! You won't be getting past it this turn!"

"That may be, but I'll use Ancient Hero Superior's effect to increase his Atk by 500 more points, making him strong enough for next turn!" Andrew said, his warrior glowing with a burning aura.

Ancient Hero Superior (10/2900/2400 - 10/3400/2400)

"And then I'll use the Spell Split Duo card!" Andrew continued. "Now let's see if I can't snag a little extra life from ya."

The familiar angel and devil duo appeared and hovered around both of the players, ready to act accordingly with the results of Andrew's coin flip.

"First up, let's call it tails!" Andrew said, flipping the coin. He caught it and revealed it: heads.

"Second time's the charm! Let's call tails!" Andrew said flipping the coin once more. He caught it and revealed: tails!

"Looks like I'll be taking 500 of your Life Points!" Andrew declared, cuing the demon to smack Jake's Life Points while the angel sprinkled a healing magic on Andrew.

Andrew: 2300
Jake: 1400

"With that, I'll end my turn," Andrew finished.

"Your monster may be powerful," Jake said, drawing his next card, "but it won't be able to defeat me! Especially now that I'm going to summon my Megarock Dragon (7/?/?) to the field!"

Another opening in the earth appeared, from which sprung forth several monsters from Jake's Graveyard!

"In order to play this monster, I must first remove any number of Rock-type monsters in my Graveyard from the game," Jake explained. "So I remove two of my Golem Sentries, my Guardian Statue, Hieracosphinx, Criosphinx, Gigastone Omega, and Grave Ohja for a total of seven monsters! Now arise, Megarock Dragon!"

The monsters then were converted into rocks and formed together into a fiendish spiky draconic creature! The new beast roared with an evil grin as it stared down at Andrew and Ancient Hero Superior, towering over the field!

"That thing is huge!" Creighton yelped.

"That's not even the worst of it," Izzy said. "Since seven of his monsters were removed from play to summon it, Jake can give Megarock Dragon 700 Atk and Def for each one!"

"You're kidding!" Creighton responded as the beast roared again, receiving the power of the monsters that formed it as well as the phantoms still swarming the field!

Megarock Dragon (7/?/? - 7/4900/4900 - 7/5500/4900)

"Now go! Attack his Ancient Hero Superior!" Jake declared, sending in his monstrous dragon to pound the warrior into the ground! The resulting strike caused several rock spikes to fly towards Andrew, damaging his Life Points severely!

Andrew: 200
Jake: 1400

"Oh man! Andrew's really calling it close with this one!" Creighton said.

"He can't afford to take another hit like that!" Izzy concurred.

"I hope you're ready this next turn," Jake said, "because even with your Superior's effect, you won't be able to stand up to the power of my Megarock Dragon!"

And I can't attack anything other than his Great Stone Dragon anyway, Andrew thought to himself. He's really got me in a bind.

"Well then, are you ready to admit defeat?" Jake asked. "There's not much else you can do in your next turn!"

Andrew simply smiled and drew his next card, with the effects of his Twist of Fate halving his remaining Life Points.

Andrew: 100
Jake: 1400

"100 Life Points left…" Kari said. "What kind of plan could he have?"

Andrew looked over at Jake, that winning smile not fading once from his face. Then he asked:

"Feeling lucky, Jake?"


"I'm activating my face-down Trap!"

"A Trap card?!"

"That's right!" Matt declared. "Go, Damage Card Barrier!"

"What?!" Both Keith and Arkana were shocked to see Matt's card reveal itself.

"Yo Yug," Joey asked, "what's dat card supposed to do?"

"Damage Card Barrier is a dangerous but powerful Trap card," Yugi explained. "It lets the player draw cards based on the amount of damage dealt to them that turn. The higher the damage, the more cards they can draw."

"So wait, how many cards is he drawing?" Joey wondered.

"Since you've dealt 3400 points of damage this turn," Matt continued, "I'm allowed to draw 6 cards from my deck, one for every 500 Life Points I lost."

"There's just one catch to that card," Arkana sneered. "You can draw all the cards you want, but you'll have to discard the same amount at the end of your turn! So if I were you, I'd make them count!"

Matt looked down at his deck and then prepared to draw the next few cards. I need you now, he thought. A mighty wind then swept the field as he drew the top six cards!

What was that?! Keith wondered to himself. Could he have…

"I activate Quickdraw Opportunity!" Matt said. "Since I drew this card by a card effect, I can activate it to draw two more cards from my deck!"

(Magical Citadel: 5 counters)

Arkana: 5000
Matt: 600

"I hope that was worth giving me 500 more Life Points," Arkana taunted. "I'll end my turn then."

"Then it's my move," Matt said, drawing his next card.

"He's gotta have some move with a hand like that," Tristan said.

"He'll do it," Shannon murmured. "He'll win."

"First, I activate the Pot of Generosity!" Matt said. "This returns two cards in my hand back to the Deck."

"Eh? What's the point of that?" Arkana asked aloud as Matt returned two of the cards back to his deck and shuffled it.

(Magical Citadel: 6 counters)

Arkana: 5500
Matt: 600

"Next I discard the Dragon of Hope (1/0/0) from my hand!" Matt continued. "This in turn allows me to summon any Dragon-type monster from my Deck! And I've just the candidate in mind. Come forth, Des Volstgalph!"

A great blackened dragon then appeared on Matt's field, roaring proudly into the sky.

"Then I'll activate the field spell, Dracolympus, destroying your Magical Citadel of Endymion!" Matt continued.

"No! You can't!" Arkana cried out, looking behind him as the earth began to rumble again. The great tower shook and wobbled until finally a mountain forcibly split it apart and reduced it to rubble. Arkana looked back towards Matt, only to find a great temple behind him.

Arkana: 6000
Matt: 600

"My Dracolympus card powers up my Dragons with an extra 400 Atk and Def!" Matt said, with the temple radiating the field with an aura of power.

Des Volstgalph (6/2200/1700 - 6/2600/2100)

"And since Des Volstgalph is an EARTH attribute Dragon, my field spell gives it the ability to destroy one of your Spell or Trap cards," Matt explained. "So now say goodbye to your Spell Absorption!"

The black dragon then roared, picking up a large boulder and hurling it towards Arkana's spell, destroying it in an instant!

"Now I activate this Ritual Spell: Oceanic Tranquility!" Matt declared.

"What?!" Arkana yelped. "That's not a real spell card!"

"You'll have to take that up with my monster, once I summon it," Matt continued. "With this card, I'm allowed to use monsters from my hand, field, or even my Graveyard for the sacrifice. Now I offer up the souls of the Felgrand Dragon (8/2800/2800) from my hand with that of my Blizzard Dragon in my Graveyard to summon forth one of the mighty Spirit Dragons!"

"He's summoning a Spirit Dragon?!" Keith gasped.

A pool of water appeared in front of Matt, into which he sent the Felgrand Dragon and Blizzard Dragon into. The waters rippled for a moment before returning to their peaceful state.

"Come forth, Spirit Dragon of Water (12/?/?)!"

Suddenly a great blue dragon burst out of the pool and flew high into the sky, its serpentine body trailing behind it. It spread out its ghastly wings and roared a gentle song reminiscent of whales in the ocean before descending upon the field, wrapping its body around Matt's field.

"What kind of monster is that?!" Arkana asked, looking up at the majestic creature in shock and terror.

"This is the Spirit Dragon of Water, one of six such dragons," Matt said. "With its power, I'm going to end this duel now!"

"What kind of effect could it have?" Yugi wondered.

"First!" Matt explained, raising a finger into the air. "My dragon gains 300 Atk and Def for every WATER monster that has been removed from play, which includes my Blizzard Dragon!"

Spirit Dragon of Water (12/?/? - 12/300/300)

"Next, it gains 200 Atk and Def for every Dragon-type monster in my Graveyard."

Spirit Dragon of Water (12/300/300 - 12/1300/1300)

"Hmph, much ado about nothing," Arkana snorted. "Your monster only has 1300 Atk points, and my weakest monster has 2500 Atk points! Your pesky dragon can't even touch my monsters!"

"I'm not done," Matt said. "Now I sacrifice Des Volstgalph and summon Saving Drake (8/2600/1900) to the field!"

"You can't! You have to sacrifice at least another monster for him!" Arkana complained.

"With the Spirit Dragon of Water present on my field, my monsters require one less Tribute to be summoned," Matt countered. "So now, arise Saving Drake!"

Spirit Dragon of Water (12/1300/1300 - 12/1500/1500)

A new light shined down onto the field, illuminating the black dragon before releasing it and transforming it into a burst of energy that summoned forth a tall stalwart dragon. The new monster looked down at Arkana and his monsters, its four wings spread out behind it gracefully.

"And my Saving Drake has a unique ability too," Matt said. "For each Dragon-type monster on my field, he gains 100 Atk points!"

The drake roared as its strength increased!

Saving Drake (8/2600/1900 - 8/2700/1900 - 8/3100/2300)

"Now to end this duel," Matt said. "Go, Saving Drake! Attack Endymion the Master Magician!"

The drake charged forth, soaring across the field directly to the powerful mage!

"And whenever Saving Drake attacks a monster, it gains 500 Atk until the end of the battle!" Matt announced.

"Oh no!" Arkana yelped.

Saving Drake (8/3100/2300 - 8/3600/2300)

The drake easily tore through the magician defeating it in a mere instant! It then swiped by Arkana, dealing the remaining damage over to him!

Arkana: 5100
Matt: 600

"In addition to all of that," Matt continued, "my Saving Drake inflicts damage to your Life Points equal to the Atk of the monster it destroyed!"

"What?!"

The drake then flew up high into the air, summoning into its claws a great meteoric fireball! After charging it up, it then threw the fireball towards Arkana to damage him even further!

Arkana: 2400
Matt: 600

"It still doesn't matter!" Arkana retorted. "Your Spirit Dragon remains weaker than my Dark Eradicator Warlock, and there's nothing you can do to stop my monster!"

Matt simply smirked. "Perhaps you need a lesson in what Dracolympus does," he said. "Since Saving Drake is a WIND-Attribute monster, my field grants it the ability to strike twice this turn!"

"W-wait! But that means-"

"This duel is over! Go, Saving Drake!"

The drake roared fiercely and proceeded to repeat its previous attack, this time targeting Arkana's Dark Eradicator Warlock! The warlock was no match for the drake's raw power, and Arkana took the brunt force of not only the original attack but once again the fireball strike that followed suit.

Arkana: 2400 - 1200 - 0
Matt: 600

"Alright! Way to go, Matt!" Joey cheered.

"Way to pull a fast one on em!" Tristan cheered as well.

Matt breathed a sigh of relief. "That was tougher than I would've liked," he said, only to suddenly be tackled from behind as Shannon hugged him from behind.

"I knew you could do it!" she said.

Matt chuckled, embarrassed at this reaction-

"That power…"

The group looked over at Arkana, who had fallen onto the ground after the finishing blow. He was visibly shaken by the loss, a wide-eyed look about him.

"How could anyone…have that much power?" he murmured.

Keith simply walked up behind him and said, "Come on, Arkana. We're leaving," before turning around and walking in the other direction. Arkana looked back and scrambled after him, calling out for him to wait. The legion of guards followed them and disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.


"Well Jake? Feeling lucky?"

"Lucky?" Jake asked. "What are you up to?"

Andrew indicated the cards in his hand. "I've got just the cards that will decide the end of our little bout," he said. "And it starts with Ancient Hero Swiftblade (4/1800/1800) in Attack mode!"

On Andrew's field suddenly arose a small ronin, clothed in a white kimono with a belt and wearing a kasa upon his head, a small "A"-shaped hole imbedded on its rim. His matted hair fell down the sides of his face to his small goatee, a deadened look in his eyes. By his side were two swords, ready and waiting to be used.

Jake blinked, then he laughed. "You really had me for a second there," he said. "That monster's definitely not strong enough to beat my guys, let alone let you survive the next turn!"

"Don't underestimate the power of my Swiftblade," Andrew replied with a smile. Jake stopped laughing for a moment before looking over eagerly.

"Alright then," he challenged, "show me what you got!"

"With pleasure!" Andrew said. "Now I equip Swiftblade with the greatest secrets in sword combat: the Ancient Sword Slash Skill, and the Metamorphic Swipe!"

Each of Swiftblade's swords then glowed, one with a red aura, the other with a green aura.

"And I'll give Ancient Hero Superior another 500 Atk points due to his effect," Andrew added, strengthening his warrior.

Ancient Hero Superior (10/3400/2400 - 10/3900/2400)

"Alright, Swiftblade," Andrew declared, "attack the Great Stone Dragon!"

"Wait, what?!"

"He can't do that!" Creighton yelped. "It doesn't have enough Atk points!"

The ronin knelt down, prepared itself to draw its blade, and then charged towards the great stone beast!

"Now Ancient Sword Slash Skill will double my Swiftblade's Atk until the end of the battle," Andrew explained, "and if he should destroy a monster in this battle, he'll attack again!"

"That's nuts!" Jake said.

"But there's a catch," Andrew said, "and that's where Metamorphic Swipe kicks in!"

The ronin then halted its attack, taking a ready stance in front of the dragon, waiting to strike!

"You see, Metamorphic Swipe is a very unique card," Andrew explained. "You get to flip a coin and call it, and if you're right, any damage you'd take will be halved. However, if you're wrong, then my Swiftblade will strike at you directly!"

"You'd risk an attack against my Great Stone Dragon just to see you if you can hit me directly?" Jake wondered.

"Not risk, bet," Andrew corrected.

"Cocky, aren't we?" Jake smiled. "Alright then, let's have it then!"

The ronin stood by, ready and waiting as Jake flipped a coin in the air.

"I'm calling it Heads!" he declared, watching the coin as it fell to the ground. The room fell into a tense moment as everyone watched the coin fall, hitting the ground. Then just as the coin was resting, the ronin disappeared and swiped through Jake, wiping out the rest of his Life Points!

"Tails…" Jake gasped with a smile as he fell down to his knees.

Andrew: 100
Jake: 0

"He…won…he did it!" Creighton cheered.

Izzy sighed. "That was way too close," she said before taking note of Kari walking over to Andrew. Andrew turned around to see Kari walking up.

"Ah, guess you wanted to congratulate me on my victo-"

SMACK

"Ow! What was that-"

Andrew's question remained unasked as Kari hugged him. "You idiot," she murmured. "You could've lost."

Andrew took a moment to compose himself before smiling and saying, "Not a chance."

"He's right."

The group looked over to see Jake, now back on his feet and smiling still. "I figured out your last move," he said. "You would've destroyed Great Stone Dragon if I had gotten Heads, and then you would've declared an attack against Zombie Golem with Superior, wiping out the rest of my Life Points."

"Like I said, I wasn't risking anything," Andrew said.

"You got guts, that's for sure," Jake complimented. "The Trinity admires those of great skill and courage. I'd be honored to give you my key."

Jake then held out his hand, a necklace with a key attached dangling from it. Andrew nodded and took the key, imparting it with his order before releasing it into a ball of light that vanished from the room.

"Besides, I haven't had a duel like that in a long time!" Jake added with a loud laugh. "We'll have to do it again sometime!"

"You're on!" Andrew laughed, a determined look in his eyes as the two took to a staring contest.

"Oh brother," Izzy said as she, Creighton, and Kari watched the duo engage in their estranged battle.


"Yeah, I saw the power for myself…you failed to mention that the Spirit Dragons were capable of that kind of power…heh, I'm not turning down anything. In fact, this just makes things more interesting. And when things get interesting, well…hehehe, you're sharp as ever, huh? Let's just say that the fee for my services just doubled…"


AUTHOR'S NOTES

Uh oh. Sounds like trouble's on the horizon for our heroes! Could their cards help turn things around?

Andrew vs. Jake

Servant of the Ancient Heroes (Effect Monster)
Level 1, 100 Atk, 100 Def, Warrior, WIND
Effect: You can Tribute this monster; all your "Ancient Hero" monsters are unaffected by your opponent's card effects until the end of their next turn.

Gigastone Omega (Effect Monster)
Level 5, 1000 Atk, 2300 Def, Rock, EARTH
Effect: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned by banishing 2 EARTH monsters from your GY. When this face-up card you control is sent to the GYby a card effect: destroy all of your opponent's Spell/Trap cards.

Great Stone Dragon (Effect Monster)
Level 9, 1600 Atk, 3300 Def, Dragon, EARTH
Effect: If you Tribute Summon this card, the Tributes must be EARTH. If this card is Summoned: return all banished monsters to the GY. Cannot attack the turn it is Summoned. Once per turn: you can pay 300 LP then target 1 card in your GY; return that target from your GY to your Deck. Your opponent's monsters cannot target other monsters for attacks. If this Attack Position card is attacked, switch it to Defense Position.

Zombie Golem (Effect Monster)
Level 8, 1800 Atk, 1600 Def, Zombie, EARTH
Effect: During your Main Phase, if this card is in your GY while you have 5 or more other monsters in your GY: You can Special Summon this card from your GY. When this card is Summoned: it gains 300 ATK/DEF for every monster in your GY.

Disturbance of the Grave (Normal Trap)
Effect: Until the end of this turn, all cards in your opponent's GY are treated as though they were in your GY.

Twist of Fate (Normal Spell)
Effect: Activate only if your LP are lower than your opponent's LP. Double your current LP. During your next Standby Phase: halve your LP.

Spell Split Duo (Normal Spell)
Effect: Toss a coin twice and call it each time. For each flip you call correctly, your opponent loses 500 LP and you gain 500 LP.

Megarock Dragon (Effect Monster)
Level 7, ? Atk, ? Def, Rock, EARTH
Effect: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing any number of Rock monsters in your GY. The original ATK and DEF of this card become the number of Rock monsters you banished by this effect x700.

Ancient Hero Swiftblade (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1800 Atk, 1800 Def, Warrior, EARTH
Effect: Cannot be destroyed by battle. This card is treated as a Normal monster while in your hand, Deck, or GY.

Ancient Sword Slash Skill (Equip Spell)
Effect: Equip only to "Ancient Hero Swiftblade." When the equipped monster attacks: double its ATK until the end of the Damage Step. Each time the equipped monster destroys an opponent's monster by battle, it can attack again in a row.

Metamorphic Swipe (Equip Spell)
Effect: Equip only to "Ancient Hero Swiftblade." When the equipped monster attacks: your opponent flips a coin and calls it. If they call it right, any Battle Damage they take from that battle is halved. If they call it wrong, the equipped monster attacks your opponent directly.

Matt vs. Arkana

Endymion the Master Magician (Effect Monster)
Level 7, 2700 Atk, 1700 Def, Spellcaster, DARK
Effect: You can Special Summon this card (from your hand or GY) by removing 6 Spell Counters from a "Magical Citadel of Endymion" you control. If Summoned this way: Target 1 Spell Card in your GY; add that target to your hand. Once per turn: You can discard 1 Spell, then target 1 card on the field; destroy that target.

Dark Eradicator Warlock (Effect Monster)
Level 7, 2500 Atk, 2100 Def, Spellcaster, DARK
Effect: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned by Tributing 1 "Dark Magician". Each time a Normal Spell Card is activated, inflict 1000 damage to your opponent.

Damage Card Barrier (Normal Trap)
Effect: If you take damage: until the End Phase, each time you take damage this turn, draw 1 card for every 500 damage you took.

Quickdraw Opportunity! (Quick-Play Spell)
Effect: Draw 1 card. If you draw this card by a card effect: you can activate it and draw 2 cards instead.

Pot of Generosity (Normal Spell)
Effect: Shuffle 2 cards from your hand to your Deck.

Dracolympus (Field Spell)
Effect: All Dragon monsters you control gain 400 ATK/DEF and gain the following effects based on their Attribute:
● WATER: When this monster destroys a monster in battle: you gain Life Points equal to that monster's Atk.
● EARTH: Once per turn: you can destroy 1 Spell/Trap card on the field.
● FIRE: When this monster destroys a monster in battle, inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's Atk.
● WIND: When this monster destroys a monster in battle, it can attack once again.
● LIGHT: Once per turn: you can target 1 monster your opponent controls; it loses 500 ATK/DEF.
● DARK: Once per turn: you can destroy 1 monster your opponent controls.

Oceanic Tranquility (Ritual Spell)
Effect: This card is used to Ritual Summon "Spirit Dragon of Water". You must also banish monsters from your hand, field, or GY whose total Levels equal 12 or more.

Spirit Dragon of Water (Ritual Monster)
Level 12, ? Atk, ? Def, Dragon, DIVINE
Effect: Must be Ritual Summoned with "Oceanic Tranquility". This card's Attribute is also treated as WATER. Unaffected by your opponent's Spell cards. Gains 300 ATK/DEF for every banished WATER monster, also gains 200 ATK/DEF for every Dragon monster in your GY. During your Standby Phase: gain 500 LP for every card on the field. Your Level 5 or higher monsters require 1 less Tribute to be Tribute Summoned. Once per turn: you can discard 1 card; until the end of your opponent's turn, your opponent cannot play cards of the same card type (Monster, Spell, Trap) as the card you discarded.

Saving Drake (Effect Monster)
Level 8, 2600 Atk, 1900 Def, Dragon, WIND
Effect: If this card is Summoned: it gains 100 ATK/DEF for every Dragon monster on your field. If this card attacks an opponent's monster: it gains 500 Atk until the end of the Damage Step. If this card destroys a monster by battle: inflict damage to your opponent equal to the ATK of the destroyed monster.

Excitement abounds in the upcoming installment to the Trinity saga! Keep reading!